On Monday, a man who was shot by two officers was identified as 41-year old Adam Powell. (Published Monday, Oct. 17, 2016)

The Vallejo Police Department on Monday identified the man who pointed an assault weapon at two officers on a coffee break late Sunday at a Starbucks, prompting them to open fire on him to protect themselves.

Vallejo Police Chief Andrew Bidou said at a Monday morning press conference that 41-year-old Adam Powell of Suisin "attempted to assassinate" the officers before they shot him.

"The suspect drove by Starbucks approximately six minutes before this confrontation and so we presume that this was a premeditated ambush on our officers," Bidou said. Police described Powell's weapon as having a high capacity drum magazine, with 70 rounds of high-powered ammunition.

Powell is currently in a stable but critical condition at a local hospital.

Bidou said Powell is the father of a 2-year-old boy shot inside a home in Suisun City on Sunday who is currently in a critical condition at a regional trauma center. Police have identified Powell as a person of interest in the shooting which took place in the 1000 block of Canary Court. An initial investigation shows the shooting was accidental. Investigators were unable to locate a weapon in Suisun City.

Police consider Adam Powell, suspect in Vallejo OIS, person of interest in the shooting of his two-year-old son in Suisun City Sunday.
Photo credit: Vallejo Police/Contributed Photo

Powell, who was convicted for robbery and drug offenses, was dressed in soft body armor and had an additional weapon on him.

Vallejo police said the two officers were inside the coffee shop at 199 Lincoln Rd. West around 8:50 p.m., when they saw a man open the door and point an assault style weapon with a high capacity drum magazine at them.

The "suspect appeared to be attempting to manipulate the gun as if it had malfunctioned," Vallejo police said.

A dispatch recording of the brief and tense standoff recorded someone saying, "There's a man with a rifle just trying to ambush us at Starbucks."

At that point, the two officers drew their weapons to protect themselves. The suspect took off through the parking lot, fleeing west on Magazine Street. The officers ran after the suspect and caught up with him near the intersection of Magazine and Sheridan Streets as he continued to manipulate the weapon.

Vallejo police said the suspect "presented himself as a lethal threat to the officers" who shot him three times. The suspect fell to the ground and was taken into custody. He was transported to a local hospital and was being treated for life-threatening injuries.

Vallejo police said Adam Powell attempted to assassinate two police officers with an assault weapon before they shot him.
Photo credit: Vallejo Police

"There is little doubt that if it were not for the decisive action of our two officers that today's story would be much different," Vallejo police said.

A nearby witness says she heard more than three shots fired. "We heard seven shots, like a clip, a large caliber clip," Susan Carter said.